Fragments
by ReignofTera02
Summary: She spent years trying to heal herself; trying to rid herself of her demons. That is until the devil himself shows up in Arkham, pulling her further into the darkness where they belonged.


**CHAPTER 1**

 **\- Hello Again Gorgeous -**

Less than five minutes to nine o'clock.

Students of Blackwell would be making their way from homeroom, towards their first period. She should have been one of those teenagers, dragging her feet and berating the dreary Monday rain for ruining her hair and shoes.

Instead Grace found herself comforted with the raindrops softly pelting the roof. She found harmony in the sound and allowed the discorded sounds to guide her towards the cafeteria.

As it was Monday she would be spending the first half of the morning helping in the kitchen.

Though, she would have preferred to miss breakfast altogether but every decision she made was being monitored. From the way she presented her hair to how many times she went to the bathroom.

With a resigned sigh, she took her place in the queue. When it was her turn, she hid her disgust and muttered her gratitude for the questionable oatmeal before finding her table. Deserted as always and hidden in the back, away from everyone else. Just as she wanted.

Getting people to leave her alone had turned out to be easier than she anticipated. Of course there were the ones that ignored the rumours and allowed curiosity to lead them down a path of self-destruction.

Grace believed that all her victims brought it on themselves. She warned them what would happen but also warned them that she didn't like repeating herself.

That was until that wonderful rainy Monday morning.

She'd grown tired of pretending to eat the porridge and became engrossed in the historical novel. Just as she turned the page, eager to have her curiosity sated, there was a commotion.

Having missed what had happened, she only caught at the guards swarmed.

A red-headed boy that she had never seen before, went from holding his hands up and muttering 'oops' to having his body slammed onto the floor. Head down to the ground as the guard restrained him by tying his hands behind his back.

Grace recognised the other party – Franklin. A man who was twice the boy's age but seemed possessed with an irrational anger that awoke his thirst for blood. The man looked ready to wring the boys neck and probably would have, had it not been for the guards holding him back.

When the boy was forced on his feet, he cackled, "I said I was sorry"

His tone suggesting that he was anything but.

Clearly Grace was missing some important information. Too many plot holes to even attempt trying to decipher what had happened. However, she deduced that the broken plastic tray and bloodied plastic spoon had played a major role.

While others started whispering and formulating their gossip, Gracie tutted, annoyed with the disruption before returning to her book.

His name was Jerome.

She would have happily continued serving her sentence not knowing anything about the boy. However, the red-haired inmate had managed to infiltrate everyone's conversation, including the kitchen staff. Even Grace couldn't help but commend him for his status after learning he had only arrived last night.

That explained why she hadn't recognised him.

Grace started out with blocking out the conversation but while drying the dishes, she listened as the staff spoke of what had brought Mr. Valeska to Arkham. Better to know the monsters beforehand than making the mistake of underestimating your enemy.

"Tanner told me that he was one of the guys involved with the Gotham Bank robbery! They got away with like six million…"

"…Bus full of schoolkids! He burnt them all alive…."

"…What do you expect? The kid killed his own mum…"

The week was spent listening to the same song but remixed in various ways. Others threw in a chorus of their personal experiences with him or sang about his insanity.

Words that should have Grace hiding in her room but she took the mercy of knowing he was locked up in isolation. If she was lucky, he would spend the rest of her sentence in there. She didn't really care about what happened after she left.

Three weeks past and Grace's fear and nervousness dissipated. Each Jerome free day had her muttering her gratitude and even more thankful to hear the rumours die down. It seemed that his fifteen minutes of fame was gone.

Regardless, she couldn't ignore the trepidation when noting the impressed tone and respect underlying the gossip. Not just from the inmates but from the staff too. It also didn't help when even she could sense their angst.

All Grace knew was that it was just one more person she had to avoid.

At least that was the plan.

One that seemed futile when she stepped into the cafeteria and found the very inmate she intended to avoid, sat at her table, clearly waiting for her.

Once their eyes locked, he grinned. "Hello again gorgeous"

Again?


End file.
